Harvest – 7 October 2019

Autumn crops fill the fields, and the harvest has begun. The golden grain is parted, and a sheaf stands tall. The sky is filled with mellow light, and the sun is setting. The picture is warm and suggests plenty. This harvest is feast for the eyes as well as the body, a work of the hands of both farmer and artist.

The picture is ‘Harvest’ by Joan Eardley (1960), painted in the village of Catterline, south of Aberdeen. This picture has been given texture by the addition of grit to the paint, capturing the life of harvest field and artist’s studio, of field and brush.

The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.

Psalm 67:6

Almighty God,
whose will it is that the earth and the sea
should bear fruit in due season:
bless the labours of those who work on land and sea,
grant us a good harvest
and the grace always to rejoice in your fatherly care;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Harvest Collect, Common Worship

For the fruit of all creation,
thanks be to God.
gifts bestowed on every nation,
thanks be to God.
For the plowing, sowing, reaping,
silent growth while we are sleeping,
future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
thanks be to God.
In the just reward of labor,
God’s will is done.
In the help we give our neighbour,
God’s will is done.
In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God’s will is done.
For the harvests of the Spirit,
thanks be to God.
For the good we all inherit,
thanks be to God.
For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.